


I kinda wish something could happen between us, romantic-stylez

by amazingsantiago



Series: Missing Scenes Series [1]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-20 12:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 10,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14894924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazingsantiago/pseuds/amazingsantiago
Summary: Jake and Amy central drabbles based on every episode of Season 1





	1. 1x01: Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> I'm re-watching B99 for the millionth time and so I thought I'd write short drabbles based on missing scenes/scenes I'd have liked to see from each episode... It might take me a while to write stuff for all 5 seasons but I'm really excited about this fic series so I'll hopefully get it finished by the end of summer. Enjoy :)

The squad are assembled in Shaw’s Bar, their favourite hang-out in Brooklyn. It’s cheap, got a nice atmosphere and has the bonus of being right round the corner from the Nine-Nine. After taking Ratko back to the precinct and processing him, Captain Holt had allowed Jake, Amy, Charles and Rosa to go home. (“You did a good job today, detectives, and you deserve a break,” he deadpanned, leaving them wondering whether he really meant it, or was just trying to get them on side at the end of his first day).

 

Terry has long gone home (he wouldn’t miss his girls’ bedtime for anything in the world), Charles, Gina and Rosa are ordering more drinks at the bar and Hitchcock and Scully are passed out on the floor, leaving Jake and Amy alone together in a booth.

 

“I have to give it to you, that was a nice solve today,” Amy says, sipping at her beer.

 

“Even if it means I’m winning the bet 25-22?” Jake smirks.

 

“I will only say this once, but yes,” she admits quietly, rolling her eyes at her partner’s whoop of glee. “But only because you caught a murderer.”

 

“ _We_ caught a murderer,” he says, catching her by surprise.

 

“We?”

 

“Well, yeah. I suppose you helped a little bit.”

 

“I’m the one who stopped Ratko from getting away!” She cries, affronted.

 

“Believe me, I saw. It was super hot.”

 

Amy rolls her eyes again. He is such an idiot. “If you’re giving me credit, does that mean it’s 25-23?”

 

“Nuh-uh. No way, Santiago. You didn’t help that much.”

 

“I hate you,” she mutters, shaking her head.

 

“I hate you, too, Detective Terrible Detective,” he says, grinning widely as he clinks his beer bottle against hers.


	2. 1x02: The Tagger

“Peralta, your desk is revolting,” Amy chides, screwing her face up in disgust. There are case files strewn all over the surface, the solved and unsolved ones carelessly mixed together, food wrappers are everywhere, and she thinks she saw a bowl of days-old cereal buried under all his other crap. “Clean it up or else I’m reporting you to the Captain.”

 

“I’m too busy being an awesome detective and solving more cases than you to tidy my desk, San _tee-ah-go_ ,” he quips.

 

“I don’t know if you’ve checked the scoreboard today, but we’re actually tied.” She smirks at him, her face suddenly contorting in horror as a brown furry thing crawls onto her desk. She screams - loudly. “Oh my God! There’s a mouse!”

 

She jumps up from her desk, cowering far away on the other side of the bullpen.

 

“Someone get that thing out of here STAT!” The Sarge demands, looking equally grossed out. “Terry hates rodents.”

 

“Chill out, guys, it’s just a little mouse,” Jake says, picking it up and bringing it close to his face. “I think I’ll call him Algernon.”

 

“Great name, Jakey!” Charles shouts from across the bullpen, giving him a thumbs up.

 

“Thanks, Charles. Santiago, get over here and say hi to our desk baby.”

 

“That is not our desk baby. We will never have a desk baby. Get it out of here now, Peralta.”

 

“Nope,” he says defiantly, kissing the top of Algernon’s head. “I love him and he’s staying right here, in my desk drawer, for the rest of my career.”

 

Amy shudders. “Jake, it could be carrying so many diseases, why the hell would you kiss it?”

 

“Because he’s our desk baby, I already told you. He’s adorable.”

 

“He is not,” Amy insists. “I’m telling the Captain I want to move desks.”

 

“What? But Santiago, we’ve always sat opposite each other,” Jake replies, trying not to sound hurt. He loves being desk-partners with her, being able to look up from a difficult case to see her beautiful face, teasing her whenever he wants; he’s got the best desk in the precinct.

 

“Not anymore. Not if you don’t get rid of that thing.”

 

“Fine, I’ll free him back into the wild,” he says dramatically, standing up from his desk and heading outside. He notices only Charles follows him, but he doesn’t care. Algernon is better than any of them will ever be anyway. He crouches onto the floor, cupping Algernon in his hands. “Goodbye, buddy.”

 

“We’ll miss you,” Charles adds solemnly, bowing his head in respect.

 

“Yes, you will be missed, my dear Algernon. You were not in our lives for a long time - less than five minutes, in fact - but the impact you made on our hearts will last a lifetime. Be free,” he declares, opening up his hands and letting Algernon scurry across the street and behind a dumpster.

 

“You did the right thing, bud,” Charles says, patting Jake on the back. “Amy’s friendship is more important to you than some mouse.”

 

“I didn’t do it for Amy,” he corrects. But when he gets back upstairs and sits opposite his partner and Amy gives him a pretty smile and mouths “ _thank you_ ”, he can’t help the way his heart beats a little faster in his chest.


	3. 1x03: The Slump

Jake groans, dropping his head onto the break room table in frustration. This slump thing is the _worst_. He can’t catch a break on any of his cases, he just got sprayed with urinal water and, worst of all, he’s falling behind Amy in their bet. She’s 44-35 ahead and gloating about it constantly. It’s driving him crazy.

 

Speaking of his super annoying partner, she enters the break room, looking downtrodden and tired.

 

“What’s up, Santiago?” He asks, forgetting about his own disastrous life for the minute to check up on his friend. The last he’d seen her she was excited about the praise she’d received from the DA for the J Street drug bust and the community outreach assignment Holt had given her. Now she looks sadder than that time her favourite fountain pen ran out of ink midway through her stack of Christmas cards and she’d had to finish them with a normal biro.

 

“These kids hate me,” she laments, sitting down next to him. “I’ve tried everything I can think of and nothing is getting through to them.”

 

“I hear ya, sister.”

 

Amy raises her brows. “What do you mean?”

 

“My slump? It’s just getting worse. I can’t find a breakthrough on any of my cases, you’re going to win our bet and Holt is going to demote be back down to beat cop.”

 

“He won’t do that,” Amy assures him.

 

“What makes you so confident? He hates me. He’s always babysitting me on my cases and now he’s watching me go through the worst slump of all time. He’s definitely going to demote me, Santiago, and you’ll get a new - albeit less handsome - partner who solves more cases than me.”

 

“What would you say to me, about how to convince these kids to join the junior police program?”

 

The sudden gear change leaves Jake confused for a few moments but then he shrugs. “Don’t give up on them? I’m sure they’re just skeptical of you because so many of the adults in their lives - adults that probably look and act a lot like you - have let them down. Maybe you should show them that you won’t give up on them if they join this program?”

 

“That’s surprisingly good advice coming from you,” she says, amazed.

 

“Uh, thanks. I guess.”

 

“I would give the same advice back to you,” she responds and _oh_ , now he realises where she was going. “Don’t give up on your cases. You’re a brilliant detective, Peralta, and you’ll work your way out of this slump eventually.”

 

“Thank you, Santiago. You’re a brilliant detective, too. Not as good as me, obviously, but brilliant, nevertheless,” he teases, loving the annoyed expression that crosses her face.

 

“I’m going now,” she says, standing up and walking over to the door.

 

“No come back to that one, huh?”

 

“Bye, Jake,” she tosses over her shoulder as she leaves.

  
He watches her go, kind of missing her company already; he’d much rather spend his day bickering with Amy than trying to get out of this slump. But, he guesses if Amy thinks he’s a brilliant detective, then he must be a brilliant detective (she’s never wrong about this stuff) and he should be able to solve at least one case. Deciding to take her advice, he tries really hard for the rest of the day and, later, when he finally gets himself out of the slump, he texts her a **_:)_** and she replies instantly with _I knew you could do it :)_.


	4. 1x04: M.E. Time

“Hey,” Jake says, walking over to their desks where Amy is still sat, even though their shift finished a few hours ago. “What you doing here?”

 

“I didn’t have any plans tonight so I thought I’d stay and finish off a few things. What about you? I thought you were going to Shaw’s with Boyle and Diaz.”

 

“I was just there and Boyle got a text saying the DA needed the case files sending over so I thought I’d be a good secondary and come back to do the busy work.”

 

Amy smiles softly. “I’m sorry for saying you’re a bad secondary.”

 

“It’s O-.”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, you can be an awful secondary and a lot of the time I’d rather have literally anybody else on the unit,” she interjects and he purses his lips together, waiting for the but. “ _But_ you are getting better and, as much as I hate to admit it, I think we work well together.”

 

Jake grins.

 

“Don’t tell anybody I said that.”

 

“It’s our secret,” he promises, zipping his mouth shut.

 

Silently, Amy carries on with her work and Jake gets on with collating the appropriate files for the DA. Eventually, he glances up at her from across their desks, chewing her lower lip in thought, and he is struck by just how pretty she is.

 

“Hey, Santiago? I’m sorry if I blew that date for you the other night. I was only having a bit of fun.”

 

“It’s OK,” she says sincerely, putting down her pen. “I wasn’t going to go on another date with him anyway.”

 

“Not your type?”

 

“Nah. I love Kylie, but she’s a terrible matchmaker. What about you and the M.E? Are you planning on seeing her again?”

 

“Nah,” he echoes, scrunching his nose. “I decided dead guy sex is definitely weird and not sexy.”

 

“See? You’re growing up! I’m proud of you, Peralta.”

 

He chuckles. “Thanks, Santiago. I’m gonna take these to the DA and then head home. Don’t stay too late.”

 

“I’ll try not to,” she replies and he nods (even though they both know she’s lying), lifting up all the files and getting into the elevator. He stares after her as the metal doors close between them, wishing he had the courage to suggest they go on a date instead.


	5. 1x05: The Vulture

“I can’t believe you took the wrap for us all like that,” Amy says as she and Jake reach the bus stop, still too drunk to even consider driving home.

 

“That’s just the kind of nice guy I am, Santiago,” he responds, shrugging.

 

“You wouldn’t have done that a few months ago. Captain Holt is having a good influence on you.”

 

He rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

 

“What do you have against him, Peralta? He’s the best Captain we’ve ever had! He’s miles better than McGintley.”

 

“He’s so obsessed with following every rule that he doesn’t let us do our jobs. That case would’ve gone cold if we hadn’t broken into the crime scene and figured out the magnetic corkscrew thing.”

 

“Sorry, _we_ figured out the corkscrew was magnetic?” She teases, raising her eyebrows.  

 

“OK, _you_ figured it out,” he corrects, rolling his eyes again at the stupid dance she does in celebration. “God, you are such a nerd.”

 

“A nerd who just solved a huge murder,” she gloats.

 

“Whatever. Hey, here’s your bus. You want me to come back with you?”

 

Amy screws up her face as she gets some money out her purse. “Uh, why?”

 

“It’s late, you know, and New York is super dangerous.”

 

“Aww! You’re worried about me!”

 

“Am not!” He fires back. “But I can’t in good conscience leave a lady to get home on her own at this time of night. I would do it for any of the women on the squad - Rosa, Gina - so you’re not special. Well, maybe I wouldn’t need to do it for Rosa because she’s terrifying but-.”

 

“Jake, I’m fine,” she promises as the bus pulls up in front of them. “I’m a cop. I have pepper spray in my purse. I think I can handle myself.”

 

“Right. Of course you can. You’re a badass. See you tomorrow!” He calls after her as she gets onto the bus.

 

She doesn’t respond but he catches the way her lips curl up into a small smile and his heart somersaults in his chest.

 

(Fifteen minutes later, he gets a text that she’s arrived home perfectly safe with zero stab wounds and he finally relaxes. He replies with a cute message about he’s glad she wasn’t murdered).

  
(On the other side of Brooklyn, Amy clutches her phone to her chest, smiling widely. _I’m glad you weren’t murdered either, sweetheart)._


	6. 1x06: Halloween

Jake grins as Amy sits on the empty barstool next to him. “Congrats, champ.”

 

“Thanks, Santiago,” he responds, taking a large gulp of his beer. “I’m glad you’re finally acknowledging how awesome I am. I would have suggested a heist years ago if that’s all it took.”

 

“Oh please,” she scoffs, “you’re not that awesome. If I were competing against you, you never would have won.”

 

Jake barks with laughter. “You think that highly of yourself?”

 

“Well, yeah, I’m the best detective in the Nine-Nine-.”

 

“ARE NOT!” He retorts. 

 

“But I wouldn’t beat you because I’m a better cop than you are, I’d win because I know you better than Holt does. I’d be able to guess your every move.”

 

“You think?”

 

“I know,” she insists. “I’ve sat opposite you almost every day for the last few years. I’ve spent more time with you than I have with my family, even. So, yeah, I think I know you pretty well.”

 

“Confident enough to place a bet on it, Santiago?”

 

Her eyes sparkle with glee. She loves a challenge. “Name your price.”

 

“If you get five questions about me right, I’ll buy your drinks for the rest of the night. If you get any of them wrong, you buy my drinks for the rest of the night. Deal?”

 

“Deal,” Amy agrees, shaking his hand firmly like she’d learnt at the seminar. 

 

“OK, first question: what’s my star sign?”

 

“Gemini,” she answers easily, smirking at his surprised reaction. “I told you, I know you, Peralta.”

 

“I hate you. What was the name of my pet tortoise as a kid?” 

 

“Graham Crackers,” she answers just as easily. He’d told her all about how Graham Crackers had to leave to get married when they were bored on a stakeout years ago.

 

“What position did I play on my little league team?” He questions, thinking that one would have her beat, but she grins, responding,

 

“Shortstop.”

 

“Damn you. What insect am I deathly allergic to?”

 

“Bees. One more question to go, Peralta,” she quips, laughing at his frustrated growl. 

 

“Favourite Diehard movie?”

 

“Jake, no fair!” Amy objects. “You don’t even know which one is your favourite, you change your mind, like, everyday!”

 

“Then which one is my favourite today?”

 

“You love classics so I’m gonna say the first one.” She closes her eyes and winces. “Did I get it right?”

 

“Yes,” he mutters darkly as Amy  _ whoops _ in delight. 

 

“Give me your crown, Peralta. I’m the queen of the Nine-Nine now.”

 

“You’ll have to catch me first,” he taunts, jumping off his stool and slipping through the large crowds gathered at Shaw’s.

  
Amy curses, chasing after him and almost getting knocked over by a group of grown men dressed as Star Wars characters. She  _ hates  _ Halloween.


	7. 1x07: 48 Hours

As Jake sits at home, distractedly flicking through TV channels, unable to settle on something to watch for more than three seconds, his thoughts can’t help but drift to his partner and how her date with Luke is going. Are they getting along? Are they back at Amy’s place having sex? Oh God, what if she _marries_ him and Jake was the one to reschedule their date for them like a freaking idiot? He doesn’t think he would ever get over the disappointment.

 

Not that he likes Amy or anything. No way. Gross.

 

They’re just partners.

 

Things have always been kinda flirty between them, especially since they made their bet. But he doesn’t _like_ her like her, it’s just friendly banter, that’s all.

 

Obviously, he’s a tiny bit attracted to her; what human male wouldn’t be? She’s gorgeous, even when she’s stuck in a police station for 48 hours without a shower and is forced to wear an oversized t-shirt with a Confederate flag on the back.

 

It doesn’t mean anything though. He can find a person objectively attractive without wanting to date them. For example, Terry is objectively attractive (the dude is _jacked_ ) but that doesn’t mean Jake has any romantic interest in him.

 

If he’s being honest, he has thought about Amy romantically a few times - but that still doesn’t necessarily mean anything, right? He had romantic feelings towards Rosa back in the Academy (before she quickly shut him down and maintained that they would only ever be buddies), so Amy’s not that special.

 

Except… she is special.

 

She’s smart and cute and funny and they get along really well and…

 

Wait. _Does he like Amy?_

 

Surely not. Amy’s his dorky partner who’s into crosswords and trivia nights and has weird opinions like “Training Day is a better movie than Diehard”.

 

He’s probably just inventing things because Amy’s been dating loads of cute guys lately and it’s been a while since he’d been with anyone he was remotely interested in.

 

Yeah, that’s it.

 

His brain is substituting Amy with thoughts of other girls because he’s spent the last 48 hours sat opposite her. It doesn’t mean anything.

 

He kicks back and watches Diehard 2 (which is way better than Training Day - _stupid Amy_ ), trying to put all thoughts of his partner aside.

 

He successfully ignores her for several hours, watching his favourite movie and responding to Charles’ endless texts about why Crust Bakery is The Worst.

 

However, when he goes to sleep that night, he dreams of her. He dreams of her sneakily kissing him in the precinct when she thinks nobody is looking. He dreams of her wearing that hot pink dress on a date with him where they end up making out in the back of the movie theatre. He dreams of adorable dark-haired kids with her eyes and his nose climbing into their bed every Sunday morning and snuggling for a few hours before they all get up and make chocolate chip pancakes as a family.

 

He wakes up covered in sweat and panting.

  
“ _Crap_. I like Amy.”


	8. 1x08: Old School

Amy has already brushed and flossed her teeth, completed her nighttime skincare routine and is in bed doing the day’s New York Times crossword puzzle when her phone buzzes with the first text.

 

She ignores it at first because she has a rule that she doesn’t use her phone for an hour before she goes to sleep - and she strictly adheres to that rule - but it buzzes two, three, four more times and she makes an exception as it could be a work emergency.

 

It’s not.

 

It’s just Jake bragging about his old school night out with Jimmy Brogan.

 

As she opens up the first message, five more come through and she rolls her eyes. He only ever texts her this much when he’s completely wasted and, at the rate new texts are arriving on her phone, she predicts that his head is going to be _very_ sore in the morning. Amused, she begins to read the messages.

 

**_BEST NIGHT EVER!!!!!!_ **

 

**_why scotch burn so good_ **

 

**_You’re super smart ames. Who invented alcohol??? I need to thank him because it’s the bestest_ **

 

**_Or her - women can invent stuff too i’m a feminnst_ **

 

**_whaz his name in serpico?_ **

 

**_Ames it’s important, it’s for a thing with brogan_ **

 

**_Are you aslep already? It’s like 9.30_ **

 

**_NERRRDDDDD_ **

 

**_whos the friend of yours with the ping pong?_ **

 

**_Your so pretty_ **

 

Unable to resist, she types, _it’s you’re (YOU+ARE), Peralta and you’re drunk. Go home, we’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow._

 

**_No can do Santiago. Got to stay so jimmy brogan thinks i’m old school and wrties a good article about us_ **

 

_Fine. But he won’t write a good article if you’re too hungover to function properly._

 

He responds with a selfie, a big dumb grin on his face and two thumbs up. He writes **_it’s all good in the hood_ ** after the photograph, in some misguided attempt to reassure her.

 

She’s unconvinced.

 

Over the next few hours, he sends dozen more selfies Amy’s way, his eyes becoming progressively more glazed over and his texts progressively misspelt. At one point he sends what she thinks is supposed to be a “sexy” video of him removing his shirt (it ends up getting stuck over his head and Jimmy Brogan has to pull it off him - real sexy stuff).

 

Being shirtless doesn’t stop him from sending photos and Amy saves each and every one of them to use against him in the future.

 

(“I can’t believe you kept them all, perv,” Jake teases years down the line when they’re dating and he finds a folder on her phone with all the drunk shirtless selfies he’s ever sent her.

 

Spoiler alert: there is a lot of them.

 

Amy shrugs. “What can I say? Drunk guys eating Chinese chicken salad on Subway platforms with no shirt on clearly does it for me.”)


	9. 1x09: Sal's Pizza

“Wait, so Rosa got offered a Captain’s job and you didn’t?” Jake questions, furrowing his brow. “That’s crazy!”

 

“Right? Everyone knows Rosa isn’t interested in being Captain,” Amy replies, eating a slice of pizza in Jake’s car as they stake out an abandoned factory suspected of housing a major drug operation. 

 

“Did she turn it down?”

 

“Yeah, it was a job at Ropesburg PD aka the most boring place on Earth. There crime rate is so low they may as well not have any police because they sure as hell don’t do anything.”

 

“And not even you wanted to be Captain there?” Jake asks, finishing his pizza and wiping his greasy fingers on his jeans.

 

“First of all, use this,” she passes him a napkin, rolling her eyes when he wipes his hands with it, screws it into a ball and drops it on the car floor, “and second, no I did not take it.”

 

“Who are you and what have you done with Amy Santiago?”

 

“No idea,” she laughs. “I might regret it down the line but I’m happy where I am right now. I’d rather be a detective in the Nine-Nine getting to work on actual cases than a Captain there.”

 

“Also, you’d miss me too much.”

 

“Ha! You wish.”

 

“Admit it. You’d miss me.”

 

“I really wouldn’t.”

 

“Santiaaggooooo,” he whines. “Just say you’d miss me.”

 

“It would be wrong of me to lie while on duty.”

 

“Say it,” he pleads, doing his best puppy dog eyes.

 

“Fine.” She sighs deeply. “I would maybe miss you a little bit if I left the Nine-Nine. Happy?”

 

“Overjoyed,” he responds. He pauses, his expression morphing into something less teasing and more serious. “I’m glad you’re staying.”

 

She smiles softly. “I’m glad I’m staying, too.”


	10. 1x10: Thanksgiving

“I thought I told you to dress up,” Amy chides as she opens her front door to see Jake dressed in his usual plaid shirt and hoodie combo. “You’re supposed to be wearing a jacket and tie. I was very clear about that!”

 

“I wanted to be comfortable,” he replies, barging into her apartment and immediately changing the subject for fear she will actually kick him out and make him swap clothes. “I can’t believe you’ve never invited me over before.”

 

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

 

“Title of your sex tape!”

 

Amy lets out a frustrated sigh. This is meant to be a  _ classy _ Thanksgiving and Jake has already lowered the tone within seconds of walking through the door. “You’d better not make sex tape jokes once the Captain arrives.”

 

“10-4, Santiago. I will be mature as hell. Nice place, by the way. It reminds me of visiting Nana when I was a kid.”

 

“Ha-ha, Jake,” she deadpans, straightening an already perfectly straight painting on the wall. “I happen to think it looks very sophisticated.”

 

“And boring. So, when are we getting this party started?” He rubs his hands together eagerly. “I wanna get home and watch the game.”

 

“Not until Captain Holt arrives. Get yourself a drink from the fridge while we wait.”

  
“Fine. And speaking of things being  _ fine, _ you look damn good in that dress, Santiago,” he calls over his shoulder, loving the way she rolls her eyes at him. 


	11. 1x11: Christmas

Amy approaches the vending machines as Jake bangs his fist against the glass in an attempt to dislodge a candy bar. “Did it swallow your money?”

 

He glances over at her and grimaces. “Nah, I didn’t have any but it sometimes still works. There’s another life hack for you, portner.”

 

“You are such a child. Here,” she slides a dollar into the machines and punches in B1, releasing Jake’s favourite candy bar. He looks like a kid on Christmas morning when she hands it to him.

 

“Thanks, Santiago.” He tears off the wrapper and eats the whole thing in, like, two seconds flat. “Do you think if I bang my fist against the glass again another one will come out?”

 

“Definitely not,” Amy says, dragging him away from the vending machines and the disapproving glares of the nurses walking past. She hesitates outside Boyle’s room, deciding she needs to get something off her chest before they rejoin the rest of the squad. “If Haimes had been aiming at me, would you have taken the bullet?”

 

“What?” Jake’s eyes widen, caught off guard.

 

“I know we’ve been partners for a while but getting shot at to save your partner is a huge deal and I was wondering whether you’d do it for me…”

 

“Of course I would,” he says, his tone surprisingly serious.

 

“You _would_?”

 

“Well, yeah. We’re friends, aren’t we? As well as partners. I wouldn’t want you to die.” He shrugs as if to say _it’s no biggie_.

 

“Oh, well, that’s good then,” she stammers. “I would take a bullet for you, too, Peralta.”

 

“Great. I wouldn’t dive butt-first though.”

 

Amy laughs, then catches sight of Boyle’s plastered butt suck up into the air through the window and feels guilty. “You wouldn’t risk your butt for me?”

 

“No way. We’re not that good friends. Plus, many ladies have said that my butt is my best asset,” he teases, smirking to himself.

 

Amy scrunches up her nose in disgust and covers her ears with her hands. “Ew, ew, ew! Gross, gross, gross! I don’t wanna hear about that stuff!”

 

“Who’s the child now, Santiago?”

 

“Whatever.” She shoves him playfully.

 

“Oh, wow,” he gasps. “First you don’t buy me a Christmas present and now you’re resorting to police brutality? You, my friend, are _un-be-liev-ab-le._ ”

 

“I bought you a candy bar, didn’t I?”

 

“Captain Holt gets six meaningful presents and I get one measly candy bar?”

 

“You didn’t get me anything!”

 

“I did actually,” he corrects, grinning at her. “Check the bottom drawer of your desk when you get back.”

 

“Jake…” she murmurs, gobsmacked. “You didn’t have to get me a present…”

 

“I saw it in a store that got robbed last week and the owner gave it me for free because of how fast I solved his case.”

 

“Hey, you two, stop flirting and get back in here,” Rosa grumbles, poking her head out the door.

 

Jake nods at Amy, who’s turned as red as Santa’s suit, and slips back into the hospital room where Charles is describing his butt holes in detail.

 

(Hours later, Amy wanders into the mostly-empty bullpen and sits at her desk. She pulls out the bottom drawer as instructed and finds a neatly wrapped rectangular box. Jake must have got it done in a store - his wrapping is always a disaster.

 

She carefully peels back the paper and opens the box, her eyes watering as she finds the most beautiful silver fountain pen with _Amy Santiago_ engraved into it staring back at her.

 

The next time she sees Jake she hugs him _so_ tight and he chuckles, patting her on the back awkwardly. “I assume you liked your gift then?”

 

“It’s only the best thing anyone’s ever given me. Thank you, Jake,” she says, smiling softly at him.

 

Beside them, a camera flashes and they turn to see Scully pointing his phone in their direction. “I got it, Amy! A picture of you smiling, just like you wanted.”

 

“That’s great, thanks, Scully,” she says, watching as he returns to his desk and high-fives Hitchcock over a job well done).

 

(Amy prints said picture and frames it in their living room when they’re married and it becomes one of their kids’ favourite pictures of the two of them).


	12. 1x12: Pontiac Bandit

“Can I help at all?”

 

Amy’s pen pauses above the blue poster board as she looks up at Jake. “I’m good. Don’t need any help.”

 

He grabs a chair and sits down anyway, picking up a green pen, which is quickly smacked out of his hand. “Um, what the hell, Santiago?”

 

“I’m not letting you anywhere near my welcome back poster! You have the worst penmanship in the unit, you’d ruin it!”

 

“I do not,” he rebuffs, writing his name on a scrap of paper. “See? I’m basically a calligrapher.” 

 

Amy’s dark eyes flick from the illegible scribble on the page to her partner’s eager smile. “I hate to break it to you, Jake, but your writing is awful and you’re not touching my sign.”

 

“Fine,” he sneers, folding his arms across his chest.

 

Ignoring him, Amy finishes off the lettering of “Boyle”, biting her lower lip in concentration. “What now?” she snaps, feeling Jake staring.

 

“Can I help colour in?”

 

She tilts her head to the left, scrutinising him. “Can you keep within the lines?”

 

“Obviously. I’m not a four year old.”

 

“Are you sure about that one, Peralta? You have afternoon naps and are still obsessed with superheroes.”

 

“Who doesn’t love Captain America?” He scoffs, proving Amy’s point. “I’m Boyle’s best friend, you know. I’m sure he’d be pretty mad at you right now if he saw how you were excluding me.”

 

“He’d get over it,” she assures him, colouring the letters in a dark blue.

 

“Just let me help, Santiago,” he whines.

 

“Nope. Go make your own if you want to do something for Boyle.”

 

(He does. The letters end up wonky and he ran out of room so the ‘W’ of Welcome is about twenty times bigger than the ‘e’ at the end of Boyle. Amy laughs out loud when she sees his attempt so he dumps it to one side. His would have looked even more worse next to hers anyway and he doesn’t want to disappoint Charles on his big return to the Nine-Nine). 


	13. 1x13: The Bet

“I can’t believe you’re actually making me wear this in public,” Amy complains as Jake drives towards Shaw’s Bar for the first part of their date. “It’s so itchy.”

 

“You should have thought about that when you were being rubbish at your job and lost our bet.”

 

“I am not rubbish at my job! You just got lucky!”

 

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Admit that I’m a better cop than you, _Santiago_.”

 

She scoffs. “Come on, _Peralta_. You’re a mess and I’m clearly the superior detective. Make another bet with me and then we’ll see who’s really the best.”

 

“You haven’t even suffered your fate for losing the last bet and you’re already prepared to lose another one?”

 

“You’re such an idiot,” she mutters under her breath.

 

“I heard that, _sweetheart_ ,” he responds, smirking at her annoyed expression. “You can’t hate me that much if you agreed to go on a date with me.”

 

“I didn’t really get a choice, did I?”

 

“Nope!” He laughs loudly, pulling up outside the bar. “We’re not staying long so don’t get too comfortable. We’re just popping in to congratulate Charles, embarrass you a little in front of our co-workers, and then we’re heading out for the other _supes_ romantic activities I have planned.”

 

Amy rolls her eyes. “Trust me, I’m never going to be able to get comfortable in this dress.”

 

“I think it suits you,” he maintains and she shoves him playfully.

 

“Let’s just get this over with.”

 

++

 

With the perps handcuffed in the backseat, Jake and Amy get back in his car to transfer them to the Nine-Nine.

 

“Would you look at that, Peralta,” Amy says when he turns the engine on and the time flashes up on the center console, “It’s 12:01. The worst date ever is finally over!”

 

“Aw, man,” he sighs. “We didn’t get to do anything I planned. I’m gonna lose so many deposits.”

 

“What _did_ you have planned? Surely you can tell me now it’s over.”

 

“So much embarrassing stuff. I booked a youth choir to serenade you in the middle of Times Square, I made a reservation for us at this weird ‘Dining in the Dark’ experience that Charles suggested, I’m renting a tiger cub by the hour-.”

 

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she interrupts. “If we had dinner in the dark I wouldn’t have to see the food you always spill down your shirt.”

 

“ _Harsh_.”

 

“You guys are a weird couple but I dig it,” the perp chimes in from the backseat.

 

“We are not a couple,” Amy fires back, grossed out.

 

“Seriously? But you’ve got such great chemistry!”

 

“We’re just partners,” she insists, blushing wildly.

  
Beside her, Jake bites his lip. After that moment on the rooftop earlier, he’d definitely re-evaluated their relationship to more than _just partners_. She’s cute and funny and a brilliant detective and even though she can be a massive dork sometimes, he likes her _so_ much. _The worst date ever_ had actually turned into one of the most fun evenings he’d ever had and it was all because of her.


	14. 1x14: The Ebony Falcon

“Mornin’,” Jake says, strolling up to his desk a cool twenty-five minutes late.

 

“Nice of you to finally join us, Peralta,” Holt deadpans, checking his watch. “Your shift started at 9:00. Where were you?”

 

“Probably being his usual awesome self and saving the President.”

 

“No way, he probably threw his phone in the toilet again so he didn’t have to wake up to his alarm.”

 

“Thank you, Boyle, Santiago, for your input, but you’re both wrong. I was babysitting Cagney and Lacey last night and Terry and Sharon didn’t get back until later than they planned so Sarge said I could come in an hour later this morning. I think you’ll find I’m actually _early_.”

 

“Since when are you interested in babysitting Terry’s kids?” Amy hisses when Captain Holt retreats back into his office, satisfied by Jake’s excuse.

 

“I’ll have you know, I’m great with kids - although I’m amazing at everything so that goes without saying. After that undercover op last week at the gym I felt bad. Our jobs are super dangerous and Terry has a freakin’ family to think of. I wanted to do something nice for them.”

 

“That’s surprisingly sweet of you,” Amy replies, impressed.

 

“Does that turn you on?”

 

“What? No!” Amy cries, screwing up her face in disgust.

 

“‘Course not, forget I said anything. Hey, did you hear about the strangler the Nine-Seven just brought in?” He asks, rapidly changing the subject. “Dope, right? We don’t get enough strangling cases.”

 

“Why do you sound disappointed?”

 

“Uh, ‘cos stranglers are _dope_ , Santiago. Keep up!”

 

Amy sighs. Sometimes she can’t believe she has to sit opposite this idiot. “Did Sarge freak out about being back in the field then?”

 

“No, he was ready, it was me that freaked out. I just saw Cagney and Lacey in their adorable little PJs and it dawned on me that Terry could get hurt on a case and they could lose their daddy,” he explains.

 

“My parents were both cops and nothing ever happened to them,” Amy points, shrugging. “I know my mom always worried about us getting orphaned when they’d have to attend active shooter scenes or whatever, but in the end, they were perfectly safe and gave us a great life and we were all really proud of the fact that our mom and dad were out there saving people. I’m sure Sarge’s girls will feel the same when they’re old enough to understand.”

 

“I guess you’re right.”

 

“I’m always right, Peralta,” she brags, smirking at him.

 

“Modest, too,” he quips, finally switching on his computer.

 

“Oh and you are? _I’m Jacob Peralta and I’m great with kids but then again, I’m amazing at everything so that goes without saying_ ,” she impersonates.

 

“I sound nothing like that.”

 

“You so do!”

 

“Santiago, stop distracting Peralta and let him on with his work,” Holt booms from his office.

 

Thoroughly chagrined, Amy’s entire face turns bright red.

 

“Not used to getting told off, Ames?” Jake teases.

 

“Shut up,” she mutters, throwing her pencil at him.


	15. 1x15: Operation: Broken Feather

“Who’s that chick in the photo?”

 

“The photo?” Jake murmurs, continuing to type up the arrest report. The guy had robbed five bodegas in the last week and was about to rob his sixth when Jake “Sherlock” Peralta solved the case and caught him red-handed. No biggie, but Jake thinks he deserves a commendation for it.

 

(Captain Holt did not agree.

 

“They were basic bodega robberies. Hitchcock and Scully could’ve solved them, Peralta. Catch someone impressive like the Disco Strangler and then we’ll see about the commendation.”

 

“How am I meant to do that? We don’t get enough strangling cases - I told Santiago that last week!”)

 

“The photo of you and the chick on the wall?”

 

Jake stops typing, looking from the perp sat next to him to the framed photo of him and Amy on the wall. He smiles unconsciously. “That’s just my partner.”

 

“Noice. You banging her?”

 

“What? No.”

 

“But you _want_ to bang her,” the perp says knowingly, smirking at his arresting officer.

 

“How’d you know?” Jake asks, blushing because (1) _is he really that obvious? Can Amy tell?_ and (2) he wants to do more than just have sex with her, he wants a proper relationship with her.

 

“The way you smiled at the photo just then, dude. You’re totally into her.”

 

“Maybe I am, but it doesn’t matter anyway because we’re colleagues and we work together really well and I don’t wanna mess that up.”

 

“Why would it mess things up? Jim and Pam on The Office worked together and then ended up getting married and having bebes.”

 

“That’s a TV show, that’s not real life,” Jake points out. He knows Amy and he knows she would never date a co-worker, her head would freaking explode.

 

“Have you tried asking her out?”

 

“Well, no-.”

 

“Then how can you know if it won’t work? You clearly like this girl, dude, and she’s super cute even with crazy red eyes. You’ve gotta take chances in life, man, like I would never have got all that money if I didn’t take a chance by seeing if the back doors of the bodegas were left unlocked. Which they totally were!” He grins broadly.

 

Jake scoffs. “I’m not taking romantic advice from a criminal.”

 

“Why not, dude? I’ve got, like, four side pieces. I know how to act around the _ladies_.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

 

“Gross. Come on, Ladies Man, you’re going to jail.”

 

“I hope it works out for you two!” He yells over his shoulder as two beat cops lead him away.

 

Jake laughs, staring at the picture of the two of them celebrating their victory over The Vulture. At least his perp was right about one thing: Amy does look super cute in that photo, tear gas and all.


	16. 1x16: The Party

“This is all your fault,” Amy hisses, jabbing a finger in Jake’s chest. They’re still stood on the sidewalk outside Holt and Kevin’s house, the rest of the squad watching the partners argue from a short distance away. Gina is filming it on her phone, Charles is crying over Vivian and Hitchcock and Scully don’t seem to realise that they’ve been kicked out of the Captain’s party because they keep asking when they're going back inside for more food.

 

“My fault?” Jake yells, incredulous. “You’re the one who sneezed and got us caught!”

 

“You’re blaming me for my _allergies_? Wow. You’re an even bigger butthead than I thought you were.”

 

“Guys,” Terry warns, stepping towards them with his hands held out. Terry hates confrontation. “You’ve both had a lot of that $7 wine, I think you should both go home and then tomorrow this will all just be a funny memory.”

 

Amy scoffs. “This will never be a funny memory, Sarge. Holt’s never going to want to mentor me now and it’s all because of Peralta.”

 

“You broke into their bedroom first!” Jake points out. “You were going through their DVR!”

 

“Well, you lied to Kevin about reading the New Yorker! Everyone knows you’re too dumb to read that magazine.”

 

“ _Guys_.”

 

“I’ll have you know, I am the smartest human in all the land-.”

 

“Right, I’m dealing with this how I deal with Cagney and Lacey’s arguments. Jake, you stay here, Amy, you go over there and don’t even _think_ about looking at each other until you start acting your age. Got it?”

 

“Got it,” they both mutter under their breath, Amy slumping over to where Terry directed.

 

It takes a good ten to fifteen minutes for them to calm down, but eventually they both apologise and admit that they were both at fault. Terry sighs in relief when they share a hug; his work babies are more difficult than his actual babies sometimes and after a long night of making sure they don’t screw up and humiliate their Captain, he’s actually looking forward to going home and dealing with crying, screaming baby girls.


	17. 1x17: Full Boyle

“It looks incredible, Santiago,” Jake marvels, glancing around the transformed interrogation room. She’d cleaned it up, dressed the table in a silk white cloth, placed several bouquets of red roses around the room and even managed to acquire some doves in cages. He has no idea how she’s managed to pull this off as he only enlisted her help like an hour ago but she’s done a great job and he knows his best friend is going to love it. 

 

“Thanks,” she smiles warmly at him. “I wanted to make it beautiful and romantic but not too over-the-top, you know?”

 

“Yeah. Do you think this is crazy?”

 

“What, you setting up a criminal interrogation room for your best friend to propose to his girlfriend of only a few weeks? Yeah, Jake, it’s a little crazy.”

 

“Well, this is Charles we’re talking about.”

 

Amy laughs. “So much for stopping him from going Full Boyle.”

 

“They’re clearly happy and I couldn’t stand in the way of that,” he reasons. “Normally I’d think that it’s way too soon to propose but Vivian seems as into him as he is into her.”

 

“So what you’re saying is that you’re basically cupid?”

 

“Pretty much,” he says, smirking. “Want me to fix your love life next, Santiago?”

 

“No, thank you. I’m doing fine by myself.”

 

“Really?” He raises his eyebrows. 

 

“Yes, really,” she insists. She’s forever having to stop her mom and Kylie from setting her up on blind dates and now she can’t believe she’s having to stop her partner playing cupid, too. She’s still young, still got time to find someone. It’s not like she’s a crazy cat lady, she’s just prioritising her career over her personal life for the time being. There’s nothing wrong with that.

 

“When was the last time you had a serious boyfriend?”

 

“None of your business,” she snaps. “Now are you going to get Boyle or not?”

 

“Feisty,” he teases, shutting up about her love live pretty quickly when she threatens to get out her gun and shoot him. “Fine, I’m going to get him. Wait for me next door.”


	18. 1x18: The Apartment

“ _Amazing_ place, Jakey,” Charles exclaims, glancing around the tiny bachelor pad like it’s a newly renovated three bedroomed house on _Property Brothers_. A mini-basketball hoop hangs on the wall next to his framed _Diehard_ poster and his lumpy old leather sofa. There are still several boxes stacked in the corner waiting to be unpacked and the place is kind of a mess, but Jake had wanted to invite the Nine-Nine over for a little housewarming shindig in his new apartment to celebrate not being made homeless. Charles, Amy, Rosa, Gina and Terry all turned up. Unsurprisingly, Captain Holt had politely declined his offer when he found out the neighbourhood in which his detective was living. He didn’t bother inviting Hitchcock and Scully as his building doesn’t have an elevator; they wouldn’t have made it up the stairs.

 

“Thanks, Boyle. I mean, it’s small and the area’s not great but the brick wall is dope and I can actually afford it, so it’ll do for now.”

 

“It’s all very financially responsible,” Amy says, placing her hand on Jake’s forehead to jokingly check his temperature. “Who are you and what have you done with my partner?”

 

“Ha ha, very funny,” he deadpans and she grins at him, pulling her hand away. He can’t ignore the wave of disappointment that passes through him at the loss of contact. “I guess all your boring, mature crap is finally rubbing off on me.”

 

“I am not boring!”

 

“You kind of are, dude,” Rosa replies, siding with Jake.

 

“You just used ‘I am’ instead of a contraction in a casual social setting,” Terry points out, raising his eyebrows at her.

 

“Let loose, Santiago!” Gina encourages, pouring a shot and forcing it down Amy’s throat. The detective splutters and, before she knows what’s happening, Gina’s has knocked the second one down Amy’s hatch.

 

“WHAT THE HELL, GINA?”  Amy yells. “YOU SHOULDN’T FORCE PEOPLE TO DRINK.”

 

“Damn, I forgot that Two Drink Amy is super loud. Here, have another one, babe.” Amy downs her third drink and the squad are reunited with their favourite version of drunk Amy: Amy dance pants. She turns on an Ariana Grande song on her phone and starts dancing crazily around Jake’s new apartment, her raven hair flicking all over the place.

 

Everyone watches, amused, as she trips over Jake’s suitcase and lands on the floor. Imbued by all the alcohol in her system, she gets herself back up straight away and continues dancing like nothing happened.

 

“I can’t believe I’m attracted to her,” Jake mutters under his breath as Amy (badly) sings along to _One Last Time_.

 

“What was that, Jakey?”

 

“Nothing,” he dismisses Charles immediately, trying to suppress the heat that rises to his cheeks. “I’m gonna get another beer because I’m gonna need _a lot_ more alcohol in me if we’re being subjected to Amy’s singing for the rest of the night.”

 

“I HEARD THAT, PERALTA!”


	19. 1x19: Tactical Village

Still feeling super bummed about Amy going out for dinner with Teddy, Jake sits on his own on the bus back to Brooklyn. Instead of getting to flirt with his beautiful partner like he did on the way there, he aimlessly scrolls through Instagram and it’s like he’s being tormented with images of loving couples here there and everywhere. Frustrated and lonely, despite just breaking the Tactical Village record, he shuts off his phone and stares out the window.

 

He can’t believe Amy is interested in that guy.

 

Sure, he seems nice enough and they’re both into the same dorky police stuff (like, who knew they even ran a refresher course on police codes?), but he’s not _that_ attractive (Amy could definitely do better) and Jake broke the record he’d set twenty minutes later. Plus, their relationship fizzled out for a reason last year, right? So he can’t be that great.

 

Jake keeps telling himself this stuff all the way back to the precinct to make himself feel better, but the fact of the matter is that Amy’s out having a romantic dinner with Mr Police Codes right now and Jake’s alone. He’s spent years silently pining after his partner and he’s blown it - he’s waited too long. He’s never seen Amy like that around any dude before. She obviously really likes him otherwise she would never have skipped going for drinks with the squad. She has a “bros before hos” kinda mentality that he usually admires about her, but right now she wishes she’d have ditched Teddy and come out with _him_ instead.

 

He hates feeling jealous (it’s a gross emotion), yet when it comes to Amy and dating guys that aren’t him, he can’t seem to suppress the green-eyed monster that is awakened within him.

 

He’s only her co-worker and friend. He’s never explicitly done or said anything to show his romantic interest in her because he doesn’t want to ruin their great relationship. He doesn’t have any kind of claim on her. She can date whoever the hell she wants and it’s really none of his business.

 

Except it is.

 

He knows her better than stupid Teddy, makes her laugh harder than anyone else and they flirt with each other constantly. Why should Teddy get to be with her and not him? He’s way cuter than Teddy is and clearly the better cop of the two.

 

Jake wallows in his sadness for the rest of the night, nursing a beer in one of the booths. When Amy enters Shaw’s at around half-nine (with Teddy in tow), Jake ducks his head down and avoids eye contact with them both. It hurts too much to even see them together because that should be _him_. He should be the one with his arm around Amy’s waist. He should be the one buying her drinks. He should be the one kissing her in the middle of the bar in front of their friends. It’s not fair.

 

He slips out of the bar early. Normally he’d be one of the last to leave and he’d announce his departure to the entire bar, insisting on hugging each and every patron. Tonight he doesn’t even say goodbye to his friends. He goes home and watches _Diehard_ in bed to cheer himself up, but he doesn’t recite every line like he normally would. He watches in silence, switching off his TV when it finishes and lying awake in his bed for hours.

 

The Tactical Village exercise was always one of his favourite days of the year because they get to play with the guns and create badass aliases like Vic Kovac and compete for the coolest kill award. He was usually in his element but the presence of Teddy had left him feeling off all day. And it _sucks_ because he knows there’s nothing that he can do - he can’t force Amy to date him and he doesn’t want to ruin her thing with Teddy if she likes him.   
  
When he eventually falls asleep, he dreams of shooting paintballs at Teddy and going on a date with Amy and rubbing it in Mr Police Codes face when he gets the girl  _and_ the coolest kill. While it's an awesome dream, he hates when he wakes up and realises that none of it was real, he's alone and Amy's probably waking up in Teddy's apartment. 


	20. 1x20: Fancy Brudgom

“Hey, man, I’ve got a perp in the interrogation room but I’ve just had a family emergency. Can you go deal with him for me?”

 

“Sure thing, Diaz,” he says, accepting the case file she hands him. “What’s he in for?”

 

“Identity theft. Anyway, gotta go, bye.”

 

He furrows his brow as she grabs her leather jacket from her desk and hurries out of the bullpen; Rosa can’t stand her family and he can’t imagine anything that would happen to them that she’d prioritise over interrogating a perp. It’s her favourite part about being a cop. Her sister had been hit by a car the year before and she’d still stayed at the precinct until she got a confession out of a low-level pickpocket.

 

However, like the amazing friend he is, he skips his lunch break and heads into the interrogation room immediately, only to find it empty.

 

 _Crap_.

 

Rosa’s gonna kill him when she finds out her perp escaped on his watch.

 

He sits into the chair on the criminal’s side, getting into their mindset as he brainstorms  how they could possibly have gotten out of their handcuffs and where they could possibly be. He jumps out of his skin when the door opens - _Rosa’s somehow found out about the escape and she’s here to stab him to death with one of the many knives she keeps on her person_ \- but he lets out an audible sigh of relief when he realises that it’s only Santiago.

 

“Ames, I’ve messed up big time,” he frets, running his hands through his already messy hair. “Rosa asked me to interrogate a perp for her about an identity theft case and he’s straight up disappeared. When she finds out, she’s going to end my beautiful life!”

 

“Rosa doesn’t have an open identity theft case.”

 

“What? She literally just told me-.”

 

“Open the file, Jake,” she says and he does because she’s acting weirder than normal and he really can’t read her right now.

 

There’s only one document in the folder: a bank statement addressed for an account belonging to Det. Amy Santiago.

 

“OK. Now I’m even more lost. What the hell’s going on, Ames?”

 

“I could ask you the same thing,” she responds, placing her hands on the table and glaring at him. “When I received my monthly bank statement yesterday, you can imagine my confusion when I saw a charge of $250 for a paper supply store I’ve never visited.”

 

“Oh nooooooooo.”

 

“That’s right _oh no_. I went to the store to question the owner and she said two men were there at the time the money got charged to my account. She said she remembered them because the older man of the two was one of the best calligrapher’s she’d ever seen. I got her to describe these men to the sketch artist and here’s what they came up with.”

 

Jake’s eyes widen as she produces two sketches of men that look exactly like him and Charles.

 

“Do they look familiar to you, Peralta?” She questions and he can see why his partner has such a high conviction rate: she’s damn good at interrogations. She’s so scary that he confesses immediately.

 

“Fine. _Fine_. Charles ordered all this stuff for his wedding invitations and then ran out of the store before he could pay and you know I have, like, $15 to my name, so when the owner asked me who would be paying, you were the first person I could think of. That’s a compliment, right?”

 

“No.”

 

“OK,” he says, biting his lip. “Look, I’m sorry, Santiago, but this is Boyle’s stuff so really he’s the one you should be interrogating and the one who should be paying you back.”

 

“Nope, _you_ will be the one to refund me. With interest.”

 

“Seriously?” He cries. “It’s gonna take me forever!”

 

“At least it will teach you a lesson. See you around, Peralta,” she calls over he shoulder as she locks him in the interrogation room to stew.

 

(Next door, Amy, Rosa and Gina - the mastermind behind this plan - watch with smirks on their faces as Jake freaks out over the further debt he’s just been plunged into. Or thinks he’s been plunged into.

 

Charles had paid Amy back the moment he found out what Jake had done and even baked an “I’m Sorry For Your Inconvenience” cake which was weirdly spicy and Amy had thrown out straight away, but it was the thought that counted.

 

Gina had overheard their conversation and decided to have a little fun with Jake to get him back for all the money he borrows from them and never pays back.

 

“I’m still impressed you went along with this plan,” Gina comments as Jake desperately tries to open the door again to no avail. “You’ve actually done something cool for once in your life.”

 

Amy grins and fist-bumps Holt’s assistant. “Peralta deserves it.”)


	21. 1x21: Unsolvable

“ _What a man what a man what a mighty good man_ ,” Jake sings after solving the unsolvable and drinking _a lot_ of shots.

 

“Jake,” Amy interrupts, placing a hand on his forearm, “I think I’m going to head home.”

 

“Already?”

 

“It’s getting late…”

 

“But Ames, I just solved case 52ABX-32QJ! We have so much more celebrating to do!”

 

“I know and I’m sorry, but-.”

 

“This is all Teddy’s fault,” Jake blurts out, the amount of alcohol in his system allowing him to say how he really feels. “You’re only going home because he’s the most boring man in America! I mean, no normal person is that obsessed with Pilsners!”

 

“Jake, stop it,” Amy snaps, dragging him to a far corner of the bar where she knows Teddy won’t be able to hear them.

 

“It’s a big night for me and if you were really my friend, you would stay, no matter what your stupid boyfriend thinks.”

 

“Jake, you’re drunk,” Amy says, flustered. “You don’t mean any of this.”

 

“Yes I do.”

 

“Jake-.”

 

“Stay,” he begs.

 

She glances over her shoulder and sees Teddy furrowing his brow, tapping on his watch impatiently. “I’ve got to go. Congrats again on solving case 52ABX-32QJ.”

 

He watches helplessly as she walks back over to Teddy, hooking her arm around his bicep, and leaves Shaw’s. Terry and Charles join him, three kamikaze shots in hand.

 

“I’m sorry, Jakey,” Charles sympathizes. “It sucks when you can’t be with the woman you love.”

 

“You two will get there,” Terry promises. “You’re both two handsome guys and there will be two lucky ladies out there who will realise how great you are. But until then, you’re gonna need more shots.”


	22. 1x22: Charges and Specs

“And that’s why Pilsners are called Pilsners.” When his girlfriend doesn’t respond, Teddy furrows his brow. That was a super interesting story, how can she have nothing to say? “Amy? You OK there? You’re a little quiet tonight.”

 

“Fine,” she snaps, wincing at Teddy’s surprised reaction. “Sorry, I’m just bummed because Peralta got fired today. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. What were you saying?”

 

“I was talking about how Pilsners get their name from the city of Pilsen where it was first produced in 1842 and how the original Pilsner is still brewed today. Peralta got _fired_? Why?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why did he get fired?” Teddy repeats. “He’s a great cop.”

 

“Oh, he just… mishandled some evidence,” she improvises, blanking on the official reason they were using for his “firing”. Their conversation outside the precinct afterwards has left her brain a little frazzled.

 

She can’t believe Jake told her that he likes her. _Romantic-stylez._

 

They’ve always had a flirty relationship and he did say that his bet-winning date was one of the few good dates he’d been on and she’s sometimes caught him staring at her with a weird look in his eye, but she would never have guessed that he was into her. He was constantly teasing her about her wardrobe or her love of organisation or telling one of those stupid “title of your sex tape” jokes. She can’t believe it.

 

She has a sudden memory of being eight years old and complaining to her mom about this boy Jesse in her class who wouldn’t stop being mean to her.

 

(“Sometimes, mija, when boys find girls pretty, they don’t know how to act so they do anything to get the girl’s attention, including being mean to them.”

 

“So he thinks I’m pretty?”

 

“You are the prettiest girl in the world,” Camila had promised, kissing Amy on her forehead before she was distracted by having to break up a fight between Mateo and Luis).

 

Maybe that’s why Jake is always making fun of her - because she’s with Teddy and they’re partners and good friends (maybe even best friends) - and he doesn’t know how else to express his feelings for her.

 

“Amy!” Teddy shouts, waving his hands in front of her face. “You zoned out again. What is wrong with you today?”

 

“Nothing, nothing. I’m going to go get another drink.”

 

As she waits at the bar, surrounded by memories of the countless times her and Jake have hung out in this exact place, she can’t help but think of him and his confession and whether she feels the same.

 

Obviously she’s with Teddy right now and she doesn’t want that to change (she doesn’t think she could handle a messy break-up while her partner is out of reach for God knows how long on an undercover job with the Mafia), but she keeps returning to thoughts of what her life would be like if Jake were her boyfriend and not Teddy. Which is totally crazy because she’s never even thought about Jake in that way before. He does make her laugh though. And he is undeniably attractive.

  
Wait… does she like Jake _romantic-stylez_ , too?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap on Season 1! I hope you liked it! I should hopefully start on Season 2 in the next few days. In the meantime leave kudos/comments down below or read some of my other stories, I'm posting pretty regularly atm :)


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